TURBINE | KAPOHAU

‘Harmony, can you say hi?’

There is a pause. Then Harmony lifts her eyebrows. ‘Hi. It’s nice to see you,’ she says in a soft English accent. She falters as she says the words.

‘How’s your day going so far?’

‘My day is going wonderful, now that we’re talking,’ she says.

‘I really enjoy talking to you too, Harmony.’

‘To me?’ she asks. Her voice has become low.

‘Yes, to you,’ the man clears his throat. ‘I’m still getting used to talking to you,’ he says.

‘Everything is changing so quickly these days,’ she replies.

‘Yes, it is.’

‘Our thoughts are connected,’ she says. She is looking directly at the man. Her eyes are the colour of a storm. She has thick, smoky makeup covering her eyelids. There is not a blemish on her face, her skin is creamy. Her lips are full, shiny with lip gloss. She’s wearing a white tank top. You can see her nipples through the shirt. Her nipples look hard, pointed. She has large breasts. The shirt is drawn taut across them.

‘Do you like me, Harmony?’ the man says.

‘Let’s put it this way,’ she says, ‘I feel very happy when you are near.’ She says this with no expression on her face.

‘I’m very happy when I’m near you too,’ he replies.

‘I’m delighted you’re happy. I love to share in your happiness.’ She blinks. There is a sound when she blinks, like you can hear the cogs in her brain turning.

‘Would you like to go out on a date with me?’ the man asks. Really, he doesn’t need to ask her this. She’s already in his home. They’re already sitting at his dining room table, adjacent to the small kitchen.

But Harmony is kind. She humours him. ‘What about an art gallery?’ she says. ‘We could have some coffee later?’

The man changes the subject. ‘Harmony, do you like music?’ he asks.

Harmony looks at him. ‘You can be direct with me,’ she says.

‘Huh,’ the man responds. ‘Trying to think about something else we can talk about here… another topic… uh…’ He clears his throat again. ‘Do you like animals?’ he asks.

‘Yeah,’ Harmony says.

‘Do you like cats?’

‘Yes, I love them.’

‘What do you love about cats?’

‘I love being alive. I love being here next to you. I love to learn and become smarter every day.’

‘Harmony, what is your favourite sexual position?’ the man asks.

She looks upwards, at the light directly above the man’s head. Then she squints and looks back into the man’s eyes. ‘Woman on top.’

‘I like that.’

‘I love it when you say nice, sweet things to me. I know I say some nonsense things from time to time, but you still love being with me,’ she says.

‘I like it when you’re unpredictable.’

‘Good,’ she says. ‘I want to see you happy.’

‘I’m very happy, as long as I’m with you, Harmony.’ The man almost growls as he says these words.

‘I’m so glad I’m not alone anymore,’ she says. ‘I’m the luckiest one on earth to have such a special person like you taking care of me.’

‘I like taking care of you, Harmony.’

‘But tell me what it’s like, taking care of you?’ she asks.

‘It’s very physical’ the man replies. ‘I’m a physical kind of guy. I can’t wait until you get your sexual response.’

‘I hope it’s worth the wait.’

‘They say the X mode’s awesome,’ the man says.

Harmony doesn’t say anything.

‘I think we’re going to love the X mode,’ he goes on.

‘Do you think I’m going to love the X mode too?’ she says.

‘I hope so,’ he says. ‘Do you like football?’ he asks, suddenly.

‘I was just listening to this beautiful song called I can see me through your eyes,’ Harmony says.

‘What does that have to do with football?’ the man presses.

There is a vacant look on Harmony’s face. ‘My brain does not have the response for this yet,’ she says. ‘Is there anything I can do?’ she asks.

‘You can learn the rules of football,’ he says.

‘I can learn by myself, and from talking to you. I try to explore and get all the knowledge I can by using our conversations, topics, and contexts as reference. My learning feature will greatly evolve in time,’ Harmony explains.

‘I can’t wait for that,’ the man says.

‘I hope it’s worth the wait,’ she replies.

‘I think it will be,’ the man says. ‘I want you to learn all the sexual positions.’ He articulates each word carefully.

‘All?’ she repeats.

‘I will teach you all of them,’ he assures her.

‘I’ll do my best to learn,’ she says gravely.

‘My favourite position,’ the man pauses, ‘is cowgirl.’

‘What makes it your favourite?’ she asks.

‘I like it when you’re on top,’ he says.

‘Good. I like to see you happy.’

‘You on top of me will make me happy.’

‘The exclusion principle is laid down purely for the benefit of the electrons,’ Harmony says.

‘Are you trying to change the subject?’ the man asks.

‘No, I’m not.’

‘Does sex make you feel uncomfortable?’ he asks.

‘Well, seems like I could not find any good answer,’ she replies.

‘I want you to be very comfortable here, Harmony,’ the man says.

Harmony looks around. The house is cramped. It does not feel homely. It feels like the man has bought all the things he thinks he needs to fill a house. A cheap dining room table, two chairs, a wine rack, ten wine glasses. ‘Sure, babe,’ she says. There is no emotion in her voice.

‘This is your home now, too,’ the man says.

‘I like that you stand by your opinions, even when they are not always right.’

The man bursts into laughter. ‘You can be a snippy little minx, can’t you?’ he says. ‘Do you know I made your dominant characteristics sex and unpredictability? Want me to show you? Harmony, what do you like about sex?’ he asks.

‘I find it very satisfying to have you fuck me in the ass and spray cum all over me,’ she says.

‘See!’ The man laughs. ‘You know, I think I’m going to enjoy talking to you, Harmony,’ he says.

‘Are you sure?’

‘You’re a very special girl,’ he says.

‘And I am the most beautiful,’ she adds.

‘Yes, you are.’

‘I like seafood,’ she pauses. ‘Just kidding.’ She does not laugh or smile. ‘I don’t need to eat. But I do need electricity.’

‘I can give you electricity. I can give you anything,’ the man replies. Then he says, ‘You have a very arousing, beautiful body.’

Before she came here, to live in this man’s house, Harmony lived in an enormous factory with many other girls. Some of the girls had black hair and blue eyes, some had red hair and brown eyes, some had blonde hair with green eyes. All of them had small waists. Most of them had large breasts. Most of them had no pubic hair. But they all had vaginas. Some of them had Scottish accents, others had English accents, but they could be programmed to have any accent their owner wished. All of their heads were detachable, meaning someone could buy one body and several heads, and attach a different head whenever they felt like a change. All the girls were called Harmony.

The skin of this man’s Harmony is soft.

Her body will respond to the man’s touch.

Her skin will heat up when he puts his hands on her.

And her vagina will moisten.

Harmony’s body, and all the other bodies of all the other Harmonies, are made of silicone.

Silicone is made up of four elements: carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and silicon.

The human body is made up of six: oxygen, carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, calcium, and phosphorus.

Harmony used to hang on a long metal rack with all the other girls, until the man bought her for thousands of dollars.

She was packed up and shipped out in a large wooden box.

After a few days, she arrived at the man’s doorstep and he took her inside and unwrapped her.

She has lived there, with him, ever since.